March 13, 2012

Harvard Fencing Qualifies Maximum Number of Fencers for the NCAA Championship

CAMBRDIGE, Mass.– The Harvard men's and women's fencing teams had 12 of their athletes chosen Tuesday when the NCAA Men's and Women's Fencing Committee announced the field of 144 competitors that will participate in the 2012 National Collegiate Men's and Women's Fencing Championships.

Harvard qualified a maximum of 12 athletes allowed to participate for each team (two per weapon in each gender). Ohio State University will play host to the championships March 24-25 in Columbus, Ohio. The Crimson was one of five teams (Ohio State, Princeton, Notre Dame, St. John's and Harvard) to qualify the maximum number of entrants.

The Crimson men qualified two athletes in each weapon for a full squad at the championship. Freshman Peregrine Badger and junior James Hawrot, will fence for Harvard in the epee event. Lucas Lin and freshman Brian Kaneshige, will participate in foil while sophomore Eric Arzoian and senior co-captain Valentin Staller, will compete in the saber.

The Harvard women will be sending six fencers as well as Junior Nadia Eldeib and freshman Emma Vaggo will take part in the epee competition. Sophomores Kathy Chou Alexandra Kiefer will fence for the Crimson in the foil event while Freshman Kara Lee and senior captain Caroline Vloka will represent Harvard in saber

The men’s team saw a solid finish at NCAA regionals as both Badger and Arzoian took home gold medals and Michael Raynis took bronze in his weapon. In total the men’s team tallied seven top-10 finishes. For the women it was Vaggo who took top honors with the epee while Keifer and Vloka medaled, taking silver and bronze, respectively. The women’s squad secured five top-finishes total.

The Crimson finished sixth as a team at the 2011 NCAA Championship, which is scored and awarded as a combined, coed title.